Sabbat
And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball The Sabbat is a loose organization of Cainites who reject the Traditions. Unlike the Camarilla, the Sabbat believes in the Antediluvians and Caine. Also known as the Sword of Caine, as they believe they will be the army Caine will use to destroy the Antediluvians once Gehenna arrives. The Sabbat was founded in 1493, largely in reaction to the Convention of Thorns which founded the Camarilla. They were the remnants of the Anarch Revolt of the time. Organization The Sabbat sees itself as the army of Caine, and consequently is tightly organized, far more than the relatively anarchic Camarilla. The Sabbat consists mainly of Clans Tzimisce and Lasombra, and numerous antitribu from Clans normally independent or associated with the Camarilla. The cornerstone of Sabbat organization is the pack; Sabbat packs are organizations of 3-10 vampires mutually bound through the standard blood-sharing rites of the cult. Packs have a ductus, who is the pack's warleader, and a pack priest who reminds the pack of its responsibilities to Caine. In addition, pack members are mutually bound in a vinculum — a sort of communal blood bond — created by the blood-sharing ceremonies. Packs generally occupy communal havens; given the Sabbat's rejection of human mores and its use of artificial loyalties enforced by the vinculum, there is less need for privacy. Above the pack is a set of hierarchical titles specifically mocking the titles of the Catholic Church. Bishops oversee multiple packs and may also have a specific portfolio; overseeing Bishops are Archbishops, generally holding a position analagous to Prince for a city. Above the Archbishops are the Cardinals, who oversee large geographic regions (such as Canada, or the Eastern Seaboard) and who comprise the Constitory, the governing body that selects the Regent. Advising the Regent, Constitory and Archbishops or other leaders are the Prisci, a group of elders and other respected Sabbat who take an advisory and judicial role. The higher ranks of the Sabbat enforce their will through agents commonly called Templars or Paladins, depending on rank. These titles are formally recognized, but also generally involve a certain degree of self-selection. The Sabbat has a formal rite for recognizing Bishop and higher ranks, but any Sabbat may claim a title and try to defend it. However, the higher the rank claimed, the more likely the claimant will meet a gruesome end. The Priscus, in particular, are selected only by other Prisci. In addition to this structure, two parallel organizations exist within the Sabbat. The Sabbat Inquisition investigates vampires within the Sabbat for any signs of demon worship. In addition, the Black Hand is a militant sect within the sect, and operates semi-independently from the Sabbat that it predates. As with all Vampiric organizations, organization eventually bows to the demands of power. While most Sabbat belong to packs, elder Sabbat are more likely to live and work without packmates. At the higher levels of the organization, the difference between Camarilla and Sabbat elders is negligible, regardless of how different it may appear in the trenches. Enemies of the Sabbat *The Antideluvians *The Camarilla *The Carthian Movment *The Belials Brood *House Tremere *The Lancea Sanctum *The Ashirra Culture It has become quite the affectation among younger Sabbat (particularly those of Clan Lasombra) to wear crucifixes somewhere on their person - a necklace, an earring, even a tattoo. The irony of being damned but bearing the symbols of salvation is a source of great amusement to these vampires, especially if the bearer is a pack "priest". Older, more mature Lasombra regard the practice as irritating or outright blasphemous, even if they wear such a cross themselves. Their argument is that the neonates don't believe in their own damnation, or in God's immortal power over their souls. The Sabbat has many ways of identifying its members: the sect has an official color (purple), an official symbol (an inverted ankh), and dozens, if not hundreds, of specific signs, passwords, and gestures that theoretically let one member identify another. In practice, few Sabbat can recognize more than a few of these signs - most learn to identify one another by face at ritae or other sect gatherings. Typically only a Bishop or Archbishop will be able to positively identify any vampire in their domain as Sabbat or non-Sabbat - in the case of nomadic packs, even this becomes a chore. Additionally, each of the individual packs of the Sabbat can assume their own particular symbol, gesture, or other way of identifying themselves. Packmembers who are undercover have even more obscure and hard-to-spot ways of making their identities known or passing along information. Many neonates in the sect wonder why they have to bother with all these trappings of espionage: isn't the Sabbat's mission statement to tear down the Camarilla and its Masquerade and rule humans openly? Sabbat elders who lived through the Inquisition do not dignify these questions with an answer, and even bishops are hard-pressed to come up with a convincing response. The typical attitude is that being a True Sabbat is a matter of importance and distinction - you don't want just anybody coming in and claiming all the rights and privileges of Sabbat without having proven themselves first. Also, given the pack structure of the sect, many members think of themselves as a collection of gangs or neo-feudal warbands, complete with initation rites and other ways of making themselves feel special. The higher up one goes in the Sabbat ranks, the less frequently such symbols are seen, and the "us against the world" outlook of the young packs becomes more and more "me against the world". In order to survive long enough to achieve position and age within the sect, a vampire must learn how to live for themselves, and to fight for every scrap of profit or slightest advantage. Unlike the Camarilla, there is no rigid hierarchy in place to promote or control the ambitions of Sabbat vampires - the only rank and title a Sabbat holds is what they have the power to take. Both the Tzimisce and the Lasombra encourage this dog-eat-dog culture, as it seems to ensure that only the strongest, smartest, and most capable lead the sect, and all the rest are fodder for the appetites of their betters. The only time Monomacy can be suspended is during a Crusade, and even then, all the reckless charges and Wild Hunts tend to have a way of weeding out the slow and weak from the Sabbat's ranks. Countering this anarchic atmosphere is the Vaulderie . There are still a few elders who, in nights past, were members of the same pack, and will occasionally work together and share the Vaulderie. Younger vampires, who are living and fighting together as one unit, develop a fierce protection of one another, or else. If you cannot rely on your packmates, or their loyalty is in question, then the only thing stopping them from being ripped to shreds is the Vinculum bond they share with the rest of the pack. In the World of Darkness, being part of a pack is sometimes the only thing these vampires have going for them. Ritae The Sabbat values its bonds of loyalty and fraternity above all else. To this end, the sect has established many rituals, which reinforce pack and sect solidarity and structure. The entire sect observes the same 13 auctoritas ritae, while the ignoblis ritae vary greatly in number, subject and observation from pack to pack. Packs observe the auctoritas ritae at common times — at esbats, before sieges or when bringing a new member into the pack, for example. The ignoblis ritae may occur at any time, usually when the pack priest believes them to be most appropriate. Some packs observe greeting or parting ritae, feeding ritae, ritae of diablerie and any number of variations. Most ritae exalt the vampiric state and are striving for perfecting it-as a result, these ritae are especially cruel to mortals and kindred alike. Many Ritae have shamanistic or even koldunic origins. The Sabbat in Portland The Sabbat has just recently made their presence known in the Portland. Before 2009 the Sabbat had made no envoys into The Cage. Since the Carthian Revolution and the night of terror that happened when the power structure changed the Sabbat has been strangely silent.